Restoring Your Soul

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

   He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

   he restores my soul."

(from  Psalm 23)

Lectio Divina, is a method involving reading, meditating, and praying Scripture verses aiming to help people connect more deeply with God. 

 

There are four basic steps: 

1.    Reading the Scripture passage several times slowly listening for God's small voice.

2.   Thinking about how it applies to your life.

3.   Praying and opening your heart to God

4.   Being still and listening for what God is saying to you.

As I read Psalm 23, two words stand out for me; water and soul.

Places where I have been quiet and listening for what God may be saying are the shore and waterfalls.

At the rocky shore of Acadia, N.P., God speaks through the rhythm of the waves rolling against the rocks in sets of three.

God says, the rhythm will remain the same no matter if the seas are calm or stormy; your is consistently restored even in my times of life’s inconsistencies.

I live near several beautiful waterfalls, some large and flowing, some small and merely a trickle.

When I walk to Dingmans Falls, my favorite, sometimes, after rainstorms, the water is gushing majestically.

Sometimes, after a long spell without rain, there is still be a splendid flow down the height of the waterfall.

God restores my soul through the roar of thundering waters pouring down after rainstorms by saying, “it’s ok to express your anger in my presence.”

God restores my soul through a quiet flow saying, “I’m still here, listen to what I have to say.”

I invite you to take some Lectio Divina time listening for what God is saying to you through reviving your soul. 

Peace Be With You

While they were talking about this, 

Jesus himself stood among them 

and said to them, 

“Peace be with you.”

(from Luke 24:36b-48)

Each Sunday my pastor tells us to turn to a person near us and say, “Peace be with you,” a greeting we all say.

Some disciples were discussing the facts about the risen Lord and how they saw a connection between Moses, the prophets, and the Scriptures.

Their conversation included Jesus’ ministry, focus on table ministry, and their experience of the resurrected Jesus. 

When Jesus walked with the disciples and said,” peace be with you,” it was more than a customary welcome.

Jesus standing with them continues sharing the message salvation to disciples gathered after his death.

This greeting connects a wish for common well-being, and is also related to the Hebrew notion of shalom, indicating social relations and justice.

“Peace be with you” is also a reminder Christians are commissioned to forgive sins which can sometimes mean salvation.

So, when Jesus greets someone with “Peace be with you,” it has the possibly of a greater meaning than merely a customary welcome.

For me, the hope in this exchange with Jesus and the disciples is that as Christians greet each other by passing the Peace of Christ, we can gather around the table of salvation, break the bread and share the cup knowing Jesus is alive in the world even with all the brokenness.

Thomas' Need to Know

So the other disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,

and put my finger in the mark of the nails

and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

(from John 20:19-31)

You’d have to see it to believe it!!!

I have a 60-year-old automatic watch my father gave me for college graduation.

The watch, like me, slowed down, needs repair, and requires a specialist compelling me to do an internet search for a repair shop fixing antiques and vintage timepieces.

I located a shop about 20 miles away claiming to repair antique and vintage watches.

Entering the shop, I was amazed to see a collection of grandfather clocks, mantle clocks, wall clocks, and a collection of antique vintage watches.

It's an astonishing collection!!

You’d have to see it to believe it!!!

The only way to experience my amazement, you MUST go there! (133 S Courtland St, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301)

 That’s how it was with Mary and the disciples behind the locked doors fearing for their lives.

Mary makes this astounding announcement “I have seen the Lord.”

Remarkably, Jesus enters the room saying, “Peace be with you” breathes the Holy Spirit on them commissioning them to serve in his name.

The disciples rejoice seeing him especially when Jesus shows his hands and feet confirming this is how one recognizes the Risen Lord.

Thomas, slightly skeptical and probably brokenhearted, needs to rejoice as the disciples have, so he says, I need to see Jesus to believe it.

Understanding Thomas’ needs to know more in his faith journey, Jesus again stands among the disciples meeting Thomas’ need by showing his hand and side.

Sometimes we have to see it to believe it by trusting Jesus will show up in whatever locked rooms we see be them an evil, an injustice, an oppression, or our own locked rooms.

It’s by trusting, through Word and Sacrament, that Jesus will show up we can believe God’s peaceful kingdom will reign.